by Eric Asher
It wasn’t as jarring now. It didn’t strike fear down to her core when all light left her vision except for those drifting golden stars. What did concern her was that along that golden road, more and more Eldritch things churned in the shadows.
Some of them she’d fought at Del Morro, at the side of the guardian of Atlantis. Others she’d only heard stories of, like the usurper, but there were larger things in the Abyss. Tentacles that stretched out like some twisted rubbery highway. The thought of one of those giants being loosed upon the commoners, or even the Fae, was terrifying.
Nixie continued down the path, dwelling on things that had changed, and things that were to change. Once she would have reveled in the idea of the destruction those beasts could wreak. But now she thought of her friends and family, and not how they could die in glorious battle, but how she might lose them, and never see them again.
The road did not branch that day. It was straight, and narrow, with no forks to drag her away from her goal. It felt as if she’d been walking for a week, or only a minute, but the looming shadow of Damian’s form appeared beside her nonetheless.
Nixie wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there, looking up into the wide obsidian eyes of the jackal’s head, before those golden stars drifted down to the path beside her. One slowly merged into the next until Gaia stood beside her in silence.
“They’ve gathered all of the coins,” Nixie said.
“I am aware.” Gaia’s voice was musical, every syllable like one of the great Fae bards had taken up their song once more.
“What’s going to happen to him?”
Gaia looked down at her and then back to the colossus. “He will live, or he will die, but I will be certain he does not become Nudd’s pawn.”
Nixie sighed and repositioned her feet, the path brightening and dimming with the shift in weight. “That’s for the best.” The words felt like ash on her tongue. She didn’t care if it was for the best, or even if it would save lives, she just wanted to save Damian.
“Time will reveal the truth. You should not be here when they begin the rituals. It is not something to be witnessed by lesser beings.”
Nixie looked up at Gaia. “You mean it could kill me? It’s dangerous to stand too close?”
“It could kill many beings, Nixie. Perhaps it will kill a Titan.”
Nixie frowned at that. “You mean there’s a risk for you, too?”
Gaia slowly inclined her head. “Oh yes, a grave risk, I fear. But my people have lived without me for many centuries. My further absence would not destroy them.”
Nixie gave Gaia a small smile. “They call you a goddess. A deity.”
“Only because they do not remember the age of the Titans. We were not gods, young queen. A being with power beyond your own does not mean that being is righteous, just as Damian’s fall does not make him evil.”
Nixie’s chest tightened with those words. So many would think of what Damian had done as evil. Would blame him for things outside of his control. Even if they got through this, pulled him free of Nudd’s power and the corrupted mantle, what then? Who would come for him, then, to repay a debt of violence?
“We are not gods. I have looked upon creatures who could devour the realms of commoners and Fae without issue, and those nightmares still dwell between the Seals.”
“That doesn’t really make me feel any better.” Nixie turned her attention back to Damian, the cracked surface of his mantle slowly writhing with the flesh of gravemakers.
“It is a warning, not a balm. A reminder that the Seals must stand, and should too many of them fall—to Titans or the Eldritch things—our world could vanish into that void.”
“And yet I sit on a throne and play politics with the commoners while my friends and family war.” Nixie looked down at her hands, studying the intricate lines etched into her gauntlet. “I don’t want to fight anymore, Gaia. I want peace. I want a life.”
“A life you have, Nixie of the undines. A long life by mortal standards and one that has seen the loops of history, the rise and fall of empires, and the slow change of one’s own heart. I hope to speak to you again in the future. Even in the days I walked the earth, I cannot remember a queen of the water witches who wanted more for her people. I wish you well in the wars to come.”
“Thank you, Gaia.” Nixie looked up at Damian. “Hold on. They’re coming for you. I love you.”
She swiped her fingers across the back of her gauntlet, and the Abyss faded around her.
Note from Eric R. Asher
Thank you for spending time with the misfits! I’m blown away by the fantastic reader response to this series, and am so grateful to you all. The next book of misadventures is called The Book of the Reaper, and it’s available soon (or maybe now because I’m lazy about updating these things).
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The Book of the Reaper
The Vesik Series, book #18
By Eric R. Asher
Also by Eric R. Asher
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The Steamborn Trilogy:
Steamborn
Steamforged
Steamsworn
The Vesik Series:
(Recommended for Ages 17+)
Days Gone Bad
Wolves and the River of Stone
Winter’s Demon
This Broken World
Destroyer Rising
Rattle the Bones
Witch Queen’s War
Forgotten Ghosts
The Book of the Ghost
The Book of the Claw
The Book of the Sea
The Book of the Staff
The Book of the Rune
The Book of the Sails
The Book of the Wing
The Book of the Blade
The Book of the Fang
The Book of the Reaper*
The Vesik Series Box Sets
Box Set One (Books 1-3)
Box Set Two (Books 4-6)
Box Set Three (Books 7-8)
Box Set Four: The Books of the Dead Part 1
Box Set Five: The Books of the Dead Part 2 (Coming in 2020)*
Mason Dixon – Monster Hunter:
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
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About the Author
Eric is a former bookseller, cellist, and comic seller currently living in Saint Louis, Missouri. A lifelong enthusiast of books, music, toys, and games, he discovered a love for the written word after being dragged to the library by his parents at a young age. When he is not writing, you can usually find him reading, gaming, or buried beneath a small avalanche of Transformers. For more about Eric, see: www.ericrasher.com
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